©COMPUTERS AND STRUCTURES, INC.

, FEBRUARY 2016

TECHNICAL NOTE
AUTOMATIC GENERATION OF POINT SPRING SUPPORTS
BASED ON DEFINED SOIL PROFILES AND COLUMN-FOOTING
PROPERTIES

Introduction
This technical note describes the capability whereby foundation springs and
dashpots can automatically be generated to represent the flexibility and damp-
ing associated with soil-foundation interaction in translational and rotational
vibration modes for shallow foundations (i.e., isolated column footings).
The methodology used for calculation of the shallow foundation translational
stiffness and damping coefficients is based on a NIST report (NISTGCR 12-
917-21) titled “Soil-Structure Interaction for Building Structures,” September
2012. Chapter 2 of this report presents the detailed procedures for computing
foundation stiffness and damping.
The input required for automatic generation of soil springs and dashpots at
column bases include geotechnical and shear wave velocity profiles, soil shear
strength parameters and their variation with depth, Poisson’s ratios, soil hys-
teretic damping ratios, column footing geometries, and a building period.

Procedural Overview
The following steps are typically involved when automatically generating col-
umn base point springs and dashpots from soil profiles and column footing
geometry.
1. Define soil profiles. This includes soil layering information for the site
in terms of shear wave velocity profiles and material profiles.
2. Define isolated column footings. Required information consists of
gross footing dimensions and footing embedment depth.
3. Define point spring properties using the soil profiles and isolated col-
umn footing definitions as described above. This definition also re-
quires the first mode of vibration period for the building.

1
 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 2

4. Assign the point springs defined above to column bases.

Based on the procedure described above, soil springs and dashpots will auto-
matically be created for the selected column bases.

Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction

The soil and foundation parameters input by the user are used to gener-
ate a nonlinear link element at the column base with translational and
rotational stiffness and damping. An outline of the steps necessary to
determine the stiffness and damping is presented below. The notations
used in the calculations are as follows:

Notations for Soil Profile Parameters

𝑛𝑛 = Number of soil layers in the soil profile

𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = Thickness of ith layer of the soil profile

𝑤𝑤𝑖𝑖 = Unit weight of ith layer of the soil profile

𝐺𝐺𝑖𝑖 = Shear modulus of ith layer of the soil profile

𝜈𝜈𝑖𝑖 = Poisson’s ratio of ith layer of the soil profile

𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑖 = Cohesion of ith layer of the soil profile

𝜙𝜙𝑖𝑖 = Friction angle of ith layer of the soil profile

𝑉𝑉𝑖𝑖 = Shear wave velocity of ith layer of the soil pro-

file

𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 = Soil hysteretic damping ratio

Notations for Isolated Column Footing

 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 3

𝐿𝐿 = Half the dimension of isolated footing along

column major axis

𝐵𝐵 = Half the dimension of isolated footing along

column minor axis

𝐷𝐷 = Isolated footing thickness

𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 = Depth of embedment, measured from the base

of the column

Notations for General and Intermediate Variables

𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 = Soil mass density (average of all soil layers)

𝑔𝑔 = Acceleration due to gravity

𝜈𝜈 = Average Poisson’s ration (average of all soil

layers)

𝑇𝑇 = First-mode time period of the structure

𝜔𝜔 = Circular frequency corresponding to First-mode

time period of the structure

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for lateral translational stiffness in
X direction

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for lateral translational stiffness in
Y direction
 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 4

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for vertical translational stiffness in
Z direction

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for rotational stiffness about X axis

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for rotational stiffness about Y axis

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval to compute average effective pro-

file velocity for rotational stiffness about Z axis

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for lateral

translational stiffness in X direction

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for lateral

translational stiffness in Y direction

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for vertical

translational stiffness in Z direction

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for rotational

stiffness about X axis

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for rotational

stiffness about Y axis

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Average effective profile velocity for rotational

stiffness about Z axis

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥 = Effective shear modulus for lateral translational

stiffness in X direction
 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 5

𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦 = Effective shear modulus for lateral translational

stiffness in Y direction

𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧 = Effective shear modulus for vertical transla-

tional stiffness in Z direction

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Effective shear modulus for rotational stiffness

about X axis

𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Effective shear modulus for rotational stiffness

about Y axis

𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Effective shear modulus for rotational stiffness

about Z axis

𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥 = Embedment correction factor for lateral transla-

tional stiffness in X direction

𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦 = Embedment correction factor for lateral transla-

tional stiffness in Y direction

𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧 = Embedment correction factor for vertical trans-

lational stiffness in Z direction

𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Embedment correction factor for rotational stiff-

ness about X axis

𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Embedment correction factor for rotational stiff-

ness about Y axis

𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Embedment correction factor for rotational stiff-

ness about Z axis

𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥 = Dimensionless frequency for lateral translational

stiffness in X direction
 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 6

𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦 = Dimensionless frequency for lateral translational

stiffness in Y direction

𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧 = Dimensionless frequency for vertical transla-

tional stiffness in Z direction

𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Dimensionless frequency for rotational stiffness

about X axis

𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Dimensionless frequency for rotational stiffness

about Y axis

𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Dimensionless frequency for rotational stiffness

about Z axis

𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for translational

stiffness in X direction

𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for translational

stiffness in Y direction

𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for translational

stiffness in Z direction

𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for rotational stiff-

ness about X axis

𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for rotational stiff-

ness about Y axis

𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Dynamic stiffness modifier for rotational stiff-

ness about Z axis
 Calculating Soil-Structure Interaction 7

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for

translation in X direction

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for

translation in Y direction

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for

translation in Z direction

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for rota-

tion about X axis

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for rota-

tion about Y axis

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = Elastic static stiffness at ground surface for rota-

tion about Z axis

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for

translation in X direction

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for

translation in Y direction

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for

translation in Z direction

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for rota-

tion about X axis

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for rota-

tion about Y axis

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Dynamic stiffness of embedded footing for rota-

tion about Z axis
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 8

𝜓𝜓 = Dimensionless factor for computing radiation

damping

𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥 = Damping ratio for translation along X axis

𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦 = Damping ratio for translation along Y axis

𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧 = Damping ratio for translation along Z axis

𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Damping ratio for rotation about X axis

𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Damping ratio for rotation about Y axis

𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Damping ratio for rotation about Z axis

𝑐𝑐𝑥𝑥 = Damping coefficient for translation along X axis

𝑐𝑐𝑦𝑦 = Damping coefficient for translation along Y axis

𝑐𝑐𝑧𝑧 = Damping coefficient for translation along Z axis

𝑐𝑐𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = Damping coefficient for rotation about X axis

𝑐𝑐𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = Damping coefficient for rotation about Y axis

𝑐𝑐𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = Damping coefficient for rotation about Z axis

Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots

Step 1: Calculate Depth Interval

The depth interval necessary for computing an average effective pro-

file velocity can be taken as the half-dimension of an equivalent square
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 9

foundation matching the area of the actual foundation or the half-di-

mension of an equivalent square foundation matching the moment of
inertia of the actual foundation. The coordinate axes are oriented as
shown below such that L ≥ B.

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = √𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ; 𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = √𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵

4
𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = √𝐵𝐵 3 𝐿𝐿

4
𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = √𝐵𝐵𝐿𝐿3

4
𝑧𝑧𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = √𝐵𝐵 3 𝐿𝐿 + 𝐵𝐵𝐿𝐿3
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 10

Step 2: Calculate Average Soil Mass density and Average Pois-

son’s Ratio

1 𝑤𝑤
𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 = �𝑛𝑛� ∑𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑖=0 � 𝑔𝑔𝑖𝑖 �
𝟏𝟏
𝝂𝝂 = �𝒏𝒏� ∑𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒊=𝟎𝟎(𝝂𝝂𝒊𝒊 )

Step 3: Calculate Average Profile Velocity

For calculating the average profile velocity, layers that are partially or
fully within the depth interval are used. For checking the soil layers
that are effective for computing average profile velocity, the following
parameters are used:

𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 𝑍𝑍 − 𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 − 𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝

𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 𝑍𝑍 − 𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒

Where,

𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = Global Z coordinate of the top of depth range

𝑍𝑍𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = Global Z coordinate of the bottom of depth range

𝑍𝑍 = Global Z coordinate of the column base

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝 = Depth interval

The average effective profile velocity is calculated as follows:

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = ∆𝑧𝑧𝑖𝑖
∑𝑛𝑛2
𝑖𝑖=𝑛𝑛1� �𝑉𝑉 �
𝑖𝑖
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 11

Where,

𝑛𝑛1 = First layer, partially or fully within depth interval

𝑛𝑛2 = Last layer, partially or fully within depth interval

𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = ∆𝑧𝑧𝑖𝑖
∑𝑛𝑛2
𝑖𝑖=𝑛𝑛1� �𝑉𝑉 �
𝑖𝑖

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = ∆𝑧𝑧𝑖𝑖
∑𝑛𝑛2
𝑖𝑖=𝑛𝑛1� �𝑉𝑉 �
𝑖𝑖

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = ∆𝑧𝑧𝑖𝑖
∑𝑛𝑛2
𝑖𝑖=𝑛𝑛1� �𝑉𝑉 �
𝑖𝑖

𝑍𝑍𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = ∆𝑧𝑧𝑖𝑖
∑𝑛𝑛2
𝑖𝑖=𝑛𝑛1� �𝑉𝑉 �
𝑖𝑖

Step 4: Calculate Effective Shear Modulus

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 (𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 )2

2
𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 �𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 �

𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 (𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 )2

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 (𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 )2

2
𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 �𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 �

𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 𝜌𝜌𝑠𝑠 (𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 )2

 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 12

Step 5: Calculate correction factors for embedment depth

1.34 𝐷𝐷 0.8
𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥 = �1.0 + �0.33 + 𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵 � � 𝐵𝐵𝑒𝑒� �

𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦 = 𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥

0.25 𝐷𝐷 0.8
𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧 = �1.0 + �0.25 + 1+𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵� � 𝐵𝐵𝑒𝑒� �

𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 1.6 𝐷𝐷 2
𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = �1.0 + + �0.35+𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵� � 𝐵𝐵𝑒𝑒� �
𝐵𝐵

𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 1.6 𝐷𝐷 2
𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = �1.0 + + �0.35+(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵)4 � � 𝐵𝐵𝑒𝑒� �
𝐵𝐵

1.32 𝐷𝐷 0.9
𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = �1.0 + �1.3 + 𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵 � � 𝐵𝐵𝑒𝑒� �

Step 6: Calculate dimensionless frequency parameter

2𝜋𝜋
𝜔𝜔 = 𝑇𝑇

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 13

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝜔𝜔𝜔𝜔
𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

Step 7: Calculate Dynamic Stiffness Modifiers

𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥 = 1.0

𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦 = 1.0

0.2
�0.4+ ⁄ �𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧 2
𝐿𝐿 𝐵𝐵
𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧 = 1.0 − � 10 �
� �+𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧 2
1+3(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵−1)

�0.55+0.01�𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵−1�𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2
𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 1.0 − � 0.4 �
�2.4− �+𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2
(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵)3

0.55𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 2
𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 1.0 − � 1.4 �
�0.6+ �+𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 2
(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵)3

�0.33+0.03�𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵−1�𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 2
𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 1.0 − � 0.8 �
� �+𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 2
1+0.33(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵−1)
 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 14

Step 8: Calculate Translational and Rotational Stiffness

The elastic static stiffness at the ground surface is calculated as fol-

lows:

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥 𝐵𝐵 𝐿𝐿 0.65
𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 2−𝜈𝜈
�6.8 �𝐵𝐵� + 2.4�

𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵 𝐿𝐿 0.65 𝐿𝐿
𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = �6.8 �𝐵𝐵� + 0.8 �𝐵𝐵� + 1.6�
2−𝜈𝜈

𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧 𝐵𝐵 𝐿𝐿 0.75
𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 1−𝜈𝜈
�3.1 �𝐵𝐵� + 1.6�

𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐵𝐵3 𝐿𝐿
𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = �3.2 �𝐵𝐵� + 0.8�
1−𝜈𝜈

𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵3 𝐿𝐿 2.4

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = �3.73 �𝐵𝐵� + 0.27�
1−𝜈𝜈

𝐿𝐿 2.45
𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝐵𝐵3 �4.25 �𝐵𝐵� + 4.06�

The dynamic stiffness of the embedded footing is calculated as fol-

lows:

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥 = 𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥 × 𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥 × 𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦 = 𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦 × 𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦 × 𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧 = 𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧 × 𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧 × 𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝛼𝛼𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × 𝜂𝜂𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 × 𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 × 𝜂𝜂𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 × 𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

 Calculating Point Springs & Dashpots 15

𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 𝛼𝛼𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 × 𝜂𝜂𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 × 𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧,𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

Step 9: Calculate radiation damping ratios and damping coefficients

𝜓𝜓 = �2 (1 − 𝜈𝜈)⁄(1 − 2𝜈𝜈) ; 𝜓𝜓 ≤ 2.5

Damping ratios are calculated as follows:

4[𝜓𝜓(𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵)+(𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 ⁄𝐵𝐵)(1+𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵)] 𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧

𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧 = � (𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧 ⁄𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧 𝐵𝐵)
� �2𝛼𝛼 �
𝑧𝑧

4[𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵+(𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 ⁄𝐵𝐵)(1+𝜓𝜓𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵)] 𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦

𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦 = � �𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦 ⁄𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵�
� �2𝛼𝛼 �
𝑦𝑦

4[𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵+(𝐷𝐷𝑒𝑒 ⁄𝐵𝐵)(𝜓𝜓+𝐿𝐿 ⁄𝐵𝐵)] 𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥

𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥 = � �𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦 ⁄𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵�
� �2𝛼𝛼 �
𝑥𝑥

𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 =

4 𝐿𝐿 𝐷𝐷 𝐿𝐿 3 𝐷𝐷 𝐿𝐿 2 𝐷𝐷 𝐷𝐷 𝐿𝐿 3 𝐿𝐿
� ��3� �� 𝑒𝑒 �+𝜓𝜓� � � 𝑒𝑒 �+3� � � 𝑒𝑒 �+𝜓𝜓� 𝑒𝑒 �+� � +� ��𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 2 𝑎𝑎
3 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
� 𝑘𝑘 1.4 � �2𝛼𝛼0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 �
� 𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 ��� �+𝑎𝑎0𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧
2� 𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧
𝐺𝐺𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝐵𝐵 1+3(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵−1)0.7

4 𝐿𝐿 3 𝐷𝐷 𝐷𝐷 3 𝐿𝐿 𝐷𝐷 𝐿𝐿 2 𝐿𝐿 3
� ��� � � 𝑒𝑒 �+𝜓𝜓� 𝑒𝑒 � � �+3� 𝑒𝑒 �� � +𝜓𝜓� � �𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 2
3 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = � 𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 1.8
+
� ��� 2
�+𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 �
𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵3 1+1.75(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵−1)
4 𝐿𝐿 𝐷𝐷 3
� �� +𝜓𝜓�� 𝑒𝑒 � 𝑎𝑎0𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
3 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 �� �
2𝛼𝛼𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝐺𝐺𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝐵𝐵3
 References 16

4 𝐷𝐷 𝐷𝐷 3 𝐿𝐿 𝐷𝐷 3 𝐷𝐷 𝐿𝐿 𝐿𝐿
� ��� 𝑒𝑒 �+� 𝑒𝑒 � +𝜓𝜓� �� 𝑒𝑒 � +3� 𝑒𝑒 �� �+𝜓𝜓� ��𝑎𝑎0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 2
3 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵 𝐵𝐵
𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = � 𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 1.8 +
� ��� �+𝑎𝑎 2�
𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐵𝐵3 1+1.75(𝐿𝐿⁄𝐵𝐵−1) 0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥

4 𝐿𝐿 𝐷𝐷 3
� ��𝜓𝜓 +1�� 𝑒𝑒 � 𝑎𝑎
3 𝐵𝐵
𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝐵𝐵
� �2𝛼𝛼0𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 �
3 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥
𝐺𝐺𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝐵𝐵

The damping coefficients are calculated as follows:

2(𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥 )𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥

𝑐𝑐𝑥𝑥 = 𝜔𝜔

2�𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦 �𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦

𝑐𝑐𝑦𝑦 = 𝜔𝜔

2(𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧 )𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧

𝑐𝑐𝑧𝑧 = 𝜔𝜔

2(𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 )𝑘𝑘𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥

𝑐𝑐𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝜔𝜔

2�𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 �𝑘𝑘𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦

𝑐𝑐𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝜔𝜔

2(𝛽𝛽𝑠𝑠 +𝛽𝛽𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 )𝑘𝑘𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧

𝑐𝑐𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 𝜔𝜔

References
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Soil-Structure Interaction for
Building Structures, NISTGCR-12-917-21 (Gaithersburg, MD, 2012).